Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and other threats used by enemy forces and insurgents are a serious threat to troops on the battlefield, on city streets, and in open country. RPG weapons are relatively inexpensive and widely available throughout the world. There are variety of RPG warhead types, but the most prolific are the RPG-7 and RPG-7M which employ a focus blast or shaped charge warhead capable of penetrating considerable armor even if the warhead is detonated at standoffs up to 10 meters from a vehicle. A perfect hit with a shaped charge can penetrate a 12 inch thick steel plate. RPG's pose a persistent deadly threat to moving ground vehicles and stationary structures such as security check points.
Heavily armored, lightly armored, and unarmored vehicles have been proven vulnerable to the RPG shaped charge. Pick-up trucks, HMMWV's, 2½ ton trucks, 5 ton trucks, light armor vehicles, and M118 armored personnel carriers are frequently defeated by a single RPG shot. Even heavily armored vehicles such as the M1 Abrams Tank have been felled by a single RPG shot. The RPG-7 and RPG-7M are the most prolific class of RPG weapons, accounting for a reported 90% of the engagements. RPG-18s have been reported as well accounting for a significant remainder of the threat encounters. Close engagements 30 meters away occurs in less than 0.25 seconds and an impact speed ranging from 120-180 m/s. Engagements at 100 meters will reach a target in approximately 0.5 second and at impact speeds approaching 300 m/s.
The RPG-7 is in general use in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and weapon caches are found in random locations making them available to the inexperienced insurgents. Today, the RPG threat in Iraq is present at every turn and caches have been found under bridges, in pickup trucks, buried by the road sides, and even in churches.
Armor plating on a vehicle does not always protect the vehicle's occupants in the case of an RPG impact and no known countermeasure has proven effective.
Certain prior art discloses the idea of deploying an airbag (U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,558) or a barrier (U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,449) in the trajectory path of a munition to deflect it but such countermeasure systems would be wholly ineffective in the face of a RPG.
Other prior art discloses systems designed to intercept and destroy an incoming threat. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,784 which discloses a projectile “catcher” launched into the path of a projectile. Many such interception systems are ineffective and/or expensive, complex, and unreliable.